Investors flock to SpaceX options trading on record first day

SpaceX options didn’t just debut on US exchanges. They detonated.

On June 16, trading volume for SpaceX (ticker SPCX) options hit 1.3 million contracts by 2 p.m. ET. That’s more than triple the previous first-day record held by Meta, which managed roughly 365,000 contracts when its options launched back in 2012. The total premium exchanged topped $2 billion, with a decidedly bullish lean: calls outnumbered puts at a ratio of 1.4-to-1.

The frenzy placed SpaceX as the third most actively traded single-stock options that day, trailing only Tesla and Nvidia. For a company that just went public four days earlier, that’s less of a warm welcome and more of a standing ovation.

The IPO that set the stage

SpaceX’s options debut followed what was already the largest IPO in history. On June 12, the company raised $75 billion by pricing shares at $135 each. To put that in perspective, Saudi Aramco’s 2019 IPO raised roughly $25.6 billion. SpaceX nearly tripled it.

The stock didn’t cool off after listing, either. On the day options trading launched, SpaceX shares surged more than 14% intraday. That move briefly pushed the company’s market valuation past both Amazon and Microsoft, placing it among the most valuable firms on the planet with a post-IPO valuation exceeding $2 trillion.

Analysts at the Cboe described the debut as unprecedented. They highlighted significant retail investor participation and flagged the potential for gamma-squeeze scenarios. In English: when market makers who sold call options need to buy shares to hedge their exposure, it can create a feedback loop that pushes the stock price even higher.

Crypto platforms got there first

For the crypto-native crowd, SpaceX exposure isn’t exactly new. Before the IPO even happened, several platforms had already offered pre-IPO perpetual futures and tokenized shares trading on Solana.

Those instruments gave early access to speculators willing to operate outside traditional market infrastructure. But the June 16 options launch was a different beast entirely: regulated, listed options on major US exchanges, accessible through any standard brokerage account. No wallet required.

What this means for investors

The 1.4-to-1 call-to-put ratio confirms bullish bias. In a more cautious environment, you’d expect that ratio to be closer to even, or even tilted toward puts as investors hedge downside risk.

The gamma-squeeze risk flagged by Cboe analysts isn’t hypothetical. When a massive volume of call options concentrates at specific strike prices, market makers’ hedging activity can amplify moves in both directions.

For institutional players, the record-setting volume is actually a positive signal. High liquidity in the options market means tighter bid-ask spreads, better execution, and more sophisticated strategies become viable.

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